The Moon and Beyond
by unreal zebra
Summary: Where Ava's grades aren't the best and Ally isn't happy about it. Moon family one-shot.


**HIYA GUYS!**

 **So I'm back with a new one-shot! Yay!**

 **THANK YOU SO MUCH TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO REVIEWED ON MY LAST ONE-S** **HOT! They were all so nice and sweet! Thank You!**

 **Anywho, here's my Moon family one-shot! (although it mainly centers around Ava...)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Austin and Ally or anything from the show, sadly.**

* * *

"So I got a call from Ava's teacher today," Ally says, looking directly at Ava. Ava squirms in her seat and pretends not to notice, focusing intensely at her untouched brussel sprouts.

The Moon family was having a normal family dinner, with a heavy side helping of brussel sprouts: courtesy of Ally Moon.

"Ooo. Is Ava in trouble?" Alex asks innocently, munching on a brussel sprout. Unlike Ava, Alex adored brussel sprouts.

"I don't know. Are you?" Ally asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Uh, I don't know."

"She said she needed to discuss your grades," Ally elaborates, trying to get Ava to cave in. Ava remains quiet, moving her loathed brussel sprouts with her fork. Ally turns to Austin. "She called us in tomorrow."

Austin looks up. "Us? As in _both_ me and you?"

Ally gives him a dry look. "Yes Austin. Both me _and_ you."

"But tomorrow's my day off," Austin whines.

"Which makes it the perfect opportunity for you to go as well. I'll take my lunch break at three, so I'll be able to come."

"But who's going to pick up Alex from preschool?"

"I already talked to your parents and they'll pick him up and take him to the store."

Alex bounces in his seat. "Yay! Grandma and Grandpa let me jump on the beds!"

Austin opens his mouth again, but Ally beats him to it. "And I'll drive there from work, so after the meeting I can go back to work and you can pick up Alex and bring both of them home."

"But-"

"No buts Austin. You're coming."

Austin sighs and goes back to glaring at _his_ remaining brussel sprouts, wondering why such horrid things existed in the world.

"I finished all my vegables Mommy!" Alex exclaims proudly, showing off his empty plate to his mom.

Austin looks over at Ava and rolls his eyes. She giggles, quickly covering it with a cough.

"Good job honey! Come on. I'll get you dessert." Ally picks up her plate and leads Alex into the kitchen.

"Austin! Ava! Hurry up and finish your brussel sprouts, or no dessert." Ally calls from the kitchen.

Austin and Ava sigh and stare at their plate, wishing they had a dog.

* * *

"Hi. I'm so glad you could make it. I'm Ava's teacher," the blonde woman says, allowing the Moons to enter her classroom.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Ally and this is Austin," Ally introduces, shaking the woman's gets a feeling that this woman is a jerk, so he simply mutter a 'hello' and shakes her hand, which in his opinion is really sweaty and gross.

The teacher nods and looks down at Ava. "And of course, the little bumblebee." She smiles and lets them all sit down.

Said 'little bumblebee' gets caged between her parents and she can practically _feel_ the anger her mom's trying to hide, so she leans over to Austin's side.

"Right. Well, I called you in today to discuss Ava's grades. Her grades aren't the best at the moment, especially in reading. She's doing pretty much fine in all the other subjects, although they could use a little improvement, but her main weakness is reading."

Ally nods, as Ava's teacher opens up a file and places papers on her desk. "So she's pretty behind in our class reading. The rest of the kids have reached chapter 7, but she's still stuck on chapter 4. And I know she has trouble due to her, um _condition_ ," Austin subtly glares at her. He _knew_ she was a jerk. "But because of her, we have to hold back the rest of the class, and that isn't fair to the other students."

"I understand," Ally says.

She nods. "Also, last week's reading test," she pulls out a packet with a red number marked at the top and a lot of x's throughout the page. "So unfortunately Ava didn't pass the test..."

Ava tunes out the rest, fidgeting with her sweaty hands, not being able to bear anymore remarks from her teacher. Austin senses her discomfort and grabs her hand, rubbing it with his thumb, trying to calm her down.

"Thank you for calling us in. We'll work on this at home, won't we Ava?" Ally looks toward Ava with a stern gaze. Ava meekly nods, clutching her dad's hand even tighter.

"Well thank you for coming in. Have a wonderful rest of the day!"

They nod and exit the classroom.

"We'll discuss this when I get home from work," Ally says firmly, and walks away.

Austin bends down to Ava's height and pushes the hair out of her face. "You okay?"

Ava sniffles. "No. Mommy hates me."

"She doesn't hate you, hun."

"Yes she does. She's disappointed in me. Everyone thinks I'm not trying, but I am!" Ava sobs, tears flowing down her face. "I'm trying really hard, Daddy. I really am. But it's-it's just really hard and it doesn't make sense sometime. But I do try."

Austin's heart breaks, as he looks at his sobbing daughter. He reaches out and wipes the tears from her face. "I know you do, Princess. I know."

"Everybody in class thinks I'm dumb and stupid and they all call me names and I can't this anymore! It's just really hard, Daddy."

Austin pulls her into him as she sobs into his shirt. "Shh. It's gonna be alright, Princess. Everything's going to be fine," he soothes, kissing her hair and rubbing her back.

After a few minutes her sobs dull down into calm sniffles. Austin pulls back and looks at her. "I'll talk to Mommy, okay?"

Ava nods and rubs her stray tears away.

"Okay. Now c'mon. We should go pick up Alex before he breaks all of Grandma and Grandpa's mattresses."

* * *

6:07

Ava stares at the clock, hoping somehow time would freeze.

6:08

 _Well that didn't work._

Her mom would be coming home any minute and as much as she loved her mom, she _really_ didn't want to see her right now. When it came to grades, Ally was the scariest person alive.

6:09

Ava got up from the kitchen stool and went into the living room, where Austin was watching some cartoon with Alex.

"Daddy?"

Austin turns around and looks at her. "Yes, Princess?"

Ava walks over. "Did you talk to Mommy?"

Austin sighs and picks up Ava, placing her in his lap. "I called her many times, but she didn't pick up. I'll talk to her once she comes home." As if on cue, the garage door rumbles, signaling Ally's arrival.

"Yay Mommy's here! I have to tell her all about Grandma and Grandpa's super bouncy new bed!" Alex hops off the couch and races to the garage door, opening it. "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! I have so much to tell you!"

Ally laughs and bends down to kiss his head. "Hey sweetheart. I can't wait to hear everything, but tell me at dinner, okay?"

Alex nods and returns back to the living room to finish his cartoon.

"Hey Als. How was work?" Austin asks.

"It was fine." Ally turns to Ava, who's hiding behind Austin's legs. "So young lady, we have some talking to do."

"C'mon Ally. You just came home. You can talk to her later," Austin tries to reason.

Ally ignores him. "So Ava, your grades-"

"I'm sorry, Mommy!" Ava cries. "I'm sorry."

"You're really behind Ava. You need to work harder. You're not trying hard enough."

"I am trying Mom. It's just really hard."

"It's not that hard. Everyone else is doing perfectly fine, but you're not. You need to take school more seriously."

"Ally..." Austin tries.

"I am Mom!"

"No, you're not, which is why you're grounded until your grades come up. No TV and you're also not allowed to come to the concert on Saturday."

"Ally, c'mon you're being ridiculous."

"Mom that's not fair! I _am_ trying and I _am_ working hard. But it gets hard sometimes."

"Ava, please. I've had enough of you're ridiculous excuses."

"I hate you!" Ava shouts. The room become eerie quiet as Alex and Austin just stare in horrified shock, until Ally breaks it.

"Ava Henry Moon! Go up to your room right this instant!" Ava cringes at her middle name. Why couldn't they have just given her a normal _feminine_ middle. Apparently it was a Moon thing.

"Fine!" Ava huffs frustrated and storms up to her room.

Alex, who was calmly watching as a bystander, comes over and tugs on Austin's jeans. "Should I go make Ava happy?"

Austin smiles down at him. "I'm sure she'd like that very much, bud."

Alex grins and races up the stairs, chanting "Ava! Ava! Ava!"

"Hey Ava, can I play with you?"

Ava looks up from her pillow, her face all red and her eyes all swollen.

Alex takes a step back with wide eyes when he sees her face. "You look scary."

Ava looks in the mirror and slightly laughs. "Guess I do Al. RAWR!"

Alex shakes his head. "Nah. You're 'roar' isn't scary. We'll work on that. It needs to come from here," Alex says, pointing to his chest. "Like this. RAWWWR!"

Ava smiles. "Well I can't beat that."

Alex shrugs. "I have a gift."

"So whaddya wanna do?"

"Oh! Oh! I know! Wait, stay right here! I'll be right back!" Alex says and rushes into his room.

"Okay, I'm back! And I brought good guys and bad guys." Alex puts down his action figures. "Get your dollies. Oh and get your daddy doll too, so they can have a clone fight!"

"Okay," Ava replies, and starts rummaging through her closet to find the right dolls.

"Hey Ava?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you really hate Mommy?" Alex asks quietly.

Ava crawls out of the closet, three dolls in hand. She heard her parents yelling downstairs and felt guilty, knowing they were yelling because of her. Did she hate her her mom. No, of course not. She loved her mom. Her mom was everything to her.

 _Then why did I say I hate her?_

Ava sighs. "No Al, I don't. I was- I was just mad I guess. I love Mommy."

Alex nods. "Okay, good. So the Electric Avengerrr is saving your dollies from Claws, but then Claws attacks him too, so then Daddy needs to save the Electric Avengerrr. And then-Ava are you keeping up?"

* * *

As Alex runs up the stairs, chanting Ava's name, Ally makes her way to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Austin follows her, deciding now's finally the time to talk.

"You need to stop being so hard on Ava," Austin says, handing Ally an assortment of vegetables.

"Of course you're going to be on her side," Ally mutters, taking the vegetables and chopping them viciously, getting her anger out.

"I'm just saying you're being too hard on her. She-"

Ally turns around, fuming with anger. "I am not being too hard on her. You heard her teacher-she's behind everyone else in her class _and_ she failed her test last week," she says, waving the knife in crazy motions, towards Austin.

Austin calmly takes the knife out of her hands and places it on the counter. "So she failed a test . It's not that big of a deal."

"It is a big deal! She got the lowest grade in the whole class. The _whole_ class, Austin!"

Austin sighs, "It's third grade, Als. Grades don't matter right now. And she's trying really hard."

Ally shakes her head. "No she isn't. She needs to work hard, like Darrie. He's already in his second year of college and he's only 7! Not to mention he's Dez and Carrie's kid!"

Austin rolls his eyes. " _Darrie_ is a cyborg. Ava isn't. And she _is_ working hard!"

"If she was, she wouldn't have failed the test and she wouldn't be behind. She needs to work harder, otherwise she'll never go-"

Austin cuts her off with a hard glare. "Don't say she'll never go far in life. She's a Moon. She'll go as far in life as she wants too," he states coldly.

"Her grades are lacking, Austin. She can't even read a simple book!"

"She has dyslexia, Ally! She can't help it if she mixes up the d's with the b's and the m's with the w's. She's trying as hard as she can! And her grades don't define who she is! You know very well that she's gonna go far in life, so don't say that she's not." Austin takes a deep breath, calming down. "Why did you fall in love with "

"Now's not the time for me to inflate your ego."

Austin sighs tiredly and rubs his temples. "Just answer the question, Ally."

"Because you were always there for me and you believed in me."

"Exactly you didn't fall in love with me because of my grades and how well I did in school. You knew my grades weren't the best, but you chose me over all those brainy Harvard guys, didn't you? You did. Because you lived me for my personality, not my IQ level.

"Ava's already having a hard time. Her teacher thinks she'll never make it in life, everyone in her class makes fun of her, and now her own mom is putting her down."

Ally feels an overwhelming amount of guilt come over her.

Austin puts his hands on her shoulders. "Als, you have to be there for her. Instead of making her feel even worse than she already does, help her. And believe in her more than she believes in herself. She needs you Ally. She needs her mom."

"She said she hates me. She hates me, Austin. I've been a horrible mother and now my daughter hates me. What've I done?" Ally looks up at Austin with hurt and worry in her eyes.

He rubs her shoulders. "You made a mistake, love. But it's not to late to fix it. She didn't mean it when she said she hates you. It was just the heat of the anger talking."

Ally sighs. "You're right. I'm gonna go talk to her."

Austin smiles. "Great! And I'll finish dinner!"

"Yeah, no. I'd rather not deal with a burning kitchen tonight. You can set the table though."

Austin pouts and grumbles. "Fine, make me do the boring part."

* * *

Ally knocks on the door and opens it slightly. "Hey kiddos. Can I come in?"

Alex furiously shakes his head and pushes Ally out of the room. "Not right now. Daddy just defeated his clone and has to save the Electric Avengerrr from Claws. I'll tell you when to come in," Alex explains, slamming the door in Ally's face. Bemused, Ally sits outside of the room, waiting patiently.

After a few minutes, Alex opens the door. "Okay, you can come in now."

"Thanks hun. Hey, would you mind go helping Daddy set up the table?"

"Sure!" Alex rushes down the stairs, chanting,"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" Ally just smiles and shakes her head, wondering how on earth such a little boy could have so much energy.

"Hey sweetheart."

Ava toys with one of her doll's hair. "Hi."

Ally sits down next to her and takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry for yelling at you and being so hard on you. I know you're trying really hard and that it's difficult for you with your dyslexia. I've been a horrible mom. I should've helped you instead of getting mad over a simple grade. I'm sorry."

Ava looks up at her mom. "So you're not mad."

"No. I was mad at first, cause I wanted you to have the perfect grades, but your father made me realize that grades aren't really _that_ important and they don't define who you really are."

"I'm sorry too. I don't hate you. You're the best mom ever and I really love you. I was just mad and...I don't know, it was stupid."

Ally smiles. "I get it. So forgiven and forgotten?"

"Yep." Ava's silent for a moment, but then speaks up. "Do you really think I'm trying hard enough?"

"Yes honey, I do."

"It's just that everyone in my class all laugh at me and my teacher thinks that I'll never be good enough and I just want to make you proud."

"Honey, I _am_ proud of you. So proud. Dealing with dyslexia isn't easy, but you're doing it. And I'm so proud of you for not giving up. Don't listen to what anyone else says. Even if there's a bazillion in one chance of making it, you will, because you're a Moon, and Moon's never give up, right?" Ava nods. "I believe in you Ava. We all do. And together-"

"We can go farther than the moon," Ava finishes.

"Exactly. You're going to go way far in life, because you're too determined to let this one little setback stop you from following your dream. You're going to be fine. And for all the times you're not, you have us right here with you."

"Thanks Mom," Ava says, hugging Ally.

"Of course, sweetheart. Now we should probably go downstairs. I don't want to leave those two down there for so long. Who knows what trouble they'll cause."

* * *

"I thought I told you _not_ to cook?" Austin looks over at his wife descending from the stairs, and simply shrugs.

"I'm a rebel. Besides you two were taking too long and I'm really hungry."

Ally rolls her eyes and observes the kitchen. "Huh. I'm surprised. It actually smells good. _And_ the kitchen isn't on fire!"

Austin sticks out his tongue. "See? Told you I could cook. All those years xylo-grilling with Dez finally payed off!"

"Yeah, sure. I'll take over from here." Ally grabs the spoon and begins stirring.

"Hey there's my smiley little princess!" Austin leans down and smirks, whispering, "I made sure to get rid of all the brussel sprouts." Ava grins and high-fives him. "So did Mommy unground you? Are you allowed to come to the show?" Ava nods. "Good, cuz I need my good luck charm."

"What about me?" Alex whines from his seat.

Austin picks him up and ruffles his hair. "Well of course you too bud. Both of you are my lucky charms."

"Dinner's ready!" Ally announces, carrying a dish of pasta.

"Ooo yay! Noodles!" Alex exclaims.

Austin sets him down and everyone takes their seats. "So hun, what was the story you wanted to tell me?" Ally asks, plopping a serving of pasta in his bowl.

Alex excitedly dives right into his story about Grandma and Grandpa's new super awesome bouncy mattress and how it was the _perfect_ one for jumping and how Mommy and Daddy should totally get one for him.

Ava smiled, thinking back at the day. She may be struggling at the moment, but she had an amazing, yet crazy, family who would help her through anything and make sure that she made it. They were Moons and there was nothing they couldn't handle.

* * *

 **I made Ally such a bad guy in this lol. Oops.**

 **Oh, and in case you guys didn't notice, this takes place about a year after the finale, so Darrie's 7, Ava's 8 and Alex's 4.**

 **And yes, Ava's middle name is Henry. It was just the first thing that popped into my mind, so I went with it. Alex's middle name will be revealed in a future fic, so *wink, wink***

 **Well I guess that's it so as Alex would say, "Review! Review! Review!"**

 **Seriously. I would love to see what you guys think.**

 **Thanks for reading!㈴2**

 **(I really need a catchphrase...)**

 **~Unreal Zebra**


End file.
